Beer Experts on the trends of 2024 | The Craft Beer Channel 

Right then beer geeks! What do you see happening in beer in your part of the world in 2024?

I appreciated the point, albeit somewhat indirectly, that if you want a particular beer or brewery to stick around you gotta buy their beer. While I think there are probably many closures on the horizon, I want 2024 to be a time of supporting great breweries making great beer and doing great things for the world. I'm blessed enough to live in a place (New England) where there's lots of that all around me, but I had better be sure to not take it for granted.

Great to see Glasshouse and Nothing Bound, there’s so much good beer around Birmingham - Burning Soul, Green Duck, Salopian and Copper Beech are all great and from around here as well

re: hoppy lagers, I've seen Italian Pilsners quite a bit more often over the past year (in the US at least). I think this style is poised to get big.

Great video guys, and great points!! I especially dug the latter discussion. I think a lot of us beer geeks who has been in the game for a while, are starting to come full circle, and going back to seek out the beers that got us in to beer in the first place, or finding subtlety and balacned flavors more interesting. I am in the camp of enjoying both silly and traditional, but find myself gravitating more and more to the traditional. I will still pick up the odd silly beer, and I still do love a great hazy or a big adjuncted stout, but there is also a threshold where I think it becomes too much. Its something I've often eluded to in reviews, with beers I feel like a borderline that territory. There should be room for both, that's for sure, but I also think its a shame that amazing traditional beers suffer, because they are not explosive in your face experiences! Also, +1 for more beers with smoked malt! Happy 2024 guys, cheers!

This is one of the strongest thumbnails I have ever seen!😂 If you put this on a shirt, that would be golden! Brad giving us all his puns in one go, what a start of 2024!

I’m currently loving Fierce Hazy and the Stewart’s Hazy which I’m seeing more on tap than before. Just hoping for a great year of new beers and more friendly conversations about the beers we all love

Two flints and Indie Rabble are in side by side in railway arches under Windsor and Eton Central station. Both great new breweries. Only a 5 minute walk away from Windsor and Eton Brewery. Windsor is well worth a visit for a beer lovers. Good to see you championing them.

Craft meets smoke - breweries start to experiment with smoked malt across different core styles, not just traditional rauch brews

Some really fun beers in there - thanks for the great chat!

Yes! Really good to hear Nothing Bound mentioned. I happened to have a can of Solar Peace in my car when you were talking about it. A visit to Dave's tap room is definitely recommended, a fabulous place in a lovely location. Big love for Nothing Bound from me.

Every Two Flints beer I’ve had has been spot on. Hope they keep churning them out.

I believe there's a growing trend towards rediscovering the allure of good old-fashioned lagers in 2024, moving away from the overwhelming dominance of intensely hoppy beers. And perhaps, The Craft Beer Channel shares some of the credit for this shift. Following your engaging video addressing the misconception that lagers are dull, and the subsequent enthusiastic sharing of this idea by viewers, many have expanded their palates to appreciate the nuanced complexities of lagers. This newfound appreciation allows them to savor the delicate balance and overall experience of lagers, recognizing and enjoying the subtle differences that make each one unique. [edit] Ahh. I commented before watching the entire video.

Great shout about Nothing Bound. Outstanding brewery

I just called out strata in a local US beer store last week!!! There were at least five different brands with a strata hopped beer! Now I'll have to try it with that cool description you gave.

Great video guys - always look forward to this one! Travel Rugs was one of my favourite beers of 2023!

I love the fact I’ve got so many great beer places on my (near enough) doorstep. Preston is a great place for beer, Winckley St Ale House, Chain House Tap, Moorbrook and my favourite place of all Plug And Taps and that’s just to name a few.

I went to Asheville NC and had some stellar Porters. Let's make 2024 the year of the Porter!

I’ll have to give Strata a try!!! If you like danky, slinky hops, try Sasquatch!!! Just made a pale ale with it and it was nice and dank!! Cheers 🍻

Good to see Glasshouse on the channel - hugely underrated brewery!

Great video guys. Just so you’re aware the upper threshold on duty bands for small producers relief is 8.5% not 7.5% as mentioned in the video

Thank you for the kind words guys, much appreciated! You're welcome at the taproom any time.

Well done. You very fairly captured the scope of today’s beer world. For the open minded a well made beer of any style is appreciated. Unfortunately that doesn’t determine the survivors in tough times. I guess it’s like choosing between a bar of chocolate or a plate of sautéed spinach with garlic….

A lot more Chill IPA and hoppy lagers coming down the pike, though on the smoothie front, Imprint in Pennsylvania makes some very wierd but tasty sour/IPA smoothie things..I too love all of it...well except the super sweet pastry stouts, but others enjoy them so I just keep drinking all the beers I can find. Glad to see you are well in 2024 so far, hope your breweries and pubs can weather this year ok!

I was waiting for you to make a blend of the last two and do an advance "brew hah hah". Love & beer!

The split you mentioned in what craft brewers are making is mirrored in the customers, in my opinion. On the one hand you’ve got people that will ONLY drink NEIPA and smoothie sours, they don’t have much of any interest in brewing history or the ‘why’ behind the beer. On the other hand you have customers, like me, who are passionate about the history and provenance of these styles, who will drink any style as long as it’s well made. They all have a place, just a shame that the industry is being driven by one and not the other, or not both equally!

Amazing that you mentioned strata as I've used it now in my last two brews and LOVED it. The dank aroma is out of this world. My favourite hop by far👌🏻

As I’m watching i’m enjoying a beer from a great American craft brewery called schilling beer company out of New Hampshire that specializes in the full scope of lager beers. However the beer I’m drinking now is called “foy” and it is a Belgian style IPA and it is brilliant! So it shows that craft breweries need to keep pushing the envelope.

Very happy to see Wild Horse reaching Hackney Wick, I struggle to find it unless I'm visiting North Wales! I'm honestly hoping the cask market keeps growing - potentially experimenting with more modern styles. I'm in the North West so it's not exactly a dying art up here but I've really gotten into it over the last year and will happily try whatevers on the hand pulls

Literally as I'm watching this my local brewery (Amity) just released a NZ hop Lager... Predictions are strong already!

If you love that McColl's I'd highly recommend Pastore's 'A Tavola' from last year. Hopped with citra and it's a delight.

The way I see smoothie beers : breweries tried to find a way to make sours more popular. And that's the best of what they were able to come up with to date. More fruit, thicker texture, amazing look..... and less sourness. I like sours with a more watery texture..... yet.... let's see what beer drinkers will make of it. Bold choice - or not bold at all, since boldness is at the heart of craft brewing. Peace and hops.

I had that Azvex pastry/smoothy sour at Christmas. It was brilliantly bonkers.

My guess…more Nonalcoholic or lower ABV, hop water options. Infusions or hopped with cannabis, where legal. More fruity beers. My wife is loving cherry and blueberry ales. Home brewing since things are expensive.

Can’t wait to trying new styles in 2024, Harvey’s Sussex will always be my favourite though

Was just trying Ossett Godiva Single hop IPA in my local and its one of the few single hopped beers that doesn't taste a bit thin and missing something. Very nice.

Feeling proud to be Readingensian watching this video! Phantom are so good (I actually had my wedding reception there) and I'm lucky enough to live 15 min walk from the Fox beer house who I see are now also a Patron Do you think we're going to see bigger and bigger craft sections in the supermarkets in '24?

I’d personally love to see British hops taking off BIG time. I’m definitely doing a hoppy lager or pilsner this year, I really really really really really want one of those glasses. Looked and at the moment they are out of stock 😥great great great episode again , “ my tribe is better than your tribe “ just brilliant. Cheers guys much love 👍🍻

I suppose the issue for those two 'schools' of craft brewing is how much you can charge for your beer. I paid £8.50 for a can of the Azvex in my local tap room at xmas and would happily do so again. But when i'm presented with a fairly 'standard' 4.5% pale ale . . I get grumpy if I pay more than a fiver. Obviously Azvex costs more to make and incurs higher taxes ,but . . I still feel like a lot of people aren't willing to pay the premium for craft beers that aren't at least a little bit 'silly'.

I think 4.5-5.5% cold IPAs with Lupulins and fresh west coast flavors are coming out this year

Oh yes, I love that!

Great video

It frustrates me that the market is interested in lower alcohol options, tasty yet sessionable brews and showcasing interesting malts but it is never 'year of the mild'. MAKE MILD GREAT AGAIN!

Regarding Barley Wine, can I just big up the best BW I have ever had - Bristol's own, Good Chemistry's XXXX. So well balanced, it is sad it is no longer available.

McColl’s do some cracking beers. Good north east brewery.

Strata £35 a kilo or £4.65 per 100g on The Malt Miller. Def a good bang for buck hop 😍

i agree with you last point. it's like drinking hte best lager of your life and then rating it 3 stars because it was a lager and lagers don't deserve more than a 3.

hoppy lagers are getting popular here in New Zealand, beers labeled pilsner are all pretty fruity.

I recently saw the term "Smoothie Sour" used on a can for the first time. While the concept is not new, I'm predicting that the term will get a lot more use in the coming year.

Impy n baltic will always rule !

For Hoppy Lager - try Denham Brewing Co’s Hazy New England IPL.

Cheers to McColls 😀

Will the tax changes encourage more homebrew?

I think if I was taxed into drinking sessionable IPAs, I would move or stick to lagers. I don't believe I have had an IPA under 6% that was worth drinking at all.

8:02 you mean Bulgarian old lady, who is famous in Russia? Vanga was her name.

mmm ... hoppy Lagar isn't that the fizzy version of a summer ale or Ghost Ship?

Let's go!

I’m not too optimistic about the fate of “crazy craft” like the smooth sours or even DIPAs in Germany. Last year 2 of the 3 biggest craft bottle shops in Munich closed down so it looks like the interest (which was already a fraction of what it is in the UK) is dying out. So from my side and I guess many others too there’s going to be by default more Kellerbier, Weizenbock or Rauchbier. Could be worse!

Where was this filmed?

Hahaha to the thumbnail

Agree with the hoppy lager seeing a lot of growth and on that note NZ Pils I think are going to be quite popular, probably quite a few breweries may try and develop sub 4% versions of these as well as hazy pales to reduce the tax bills. Strata is an amazing hop but its been around for over 5 years now so its maybe not got the new wow factor anymore? HBC 586 was getting a lot of love last year and once it gets an actual brand name will blow up big time assuming Yakima Chief can scale up the production, newer NZ varieties like Superdelic and Nectaron are also going to do well I reckon. Cheers and happy new year 🍻👍🏻

Mission strata wylam was brilliant in 2022

Indeed. Don’t create a split in good beer, when we already had that with ‘craft’ and cask. As long as breweries aren’t being total twunks, it all should be supported. Yes, it’s automatic to want to shout down silly noise. Like with later nu-metal & scremo/math bands appearing, and us trve metallers scoffed at them. They were on tv and radio getting all the attention. Now where are they, eh?! Just play along. Enjoy. Don’t be a twunk.

Recon dark beers and porters continue to be popular?

I’ve had a few of those smoothie beers, and I find them entirely unpalatable. I don’t want to chew beer.

I'm certainly more on the "traditional" side of "craft" beer, so really good Belgian blonds, or IPA's, or Saison's, or Hefeweizens (my personal favorite). In saying that, the "silly" stuff is absolutely wonderful. Had some kind of crazy milkshake abomination from my local (Baylands) here in NZ, and it was absolutely amazing (5/5). Guess what I'm trying to say is I think it's all legit and brilliant and I love having all the wonderful options within my reach. Why would anyone want to limit this and stop people enjoying what they enjoy by being some kind of c*** elitist? I just don't get it.

2024 the year of the "spratwaffler"

Amazing, a climate prediction didn't come true, who would have guessed?

Can’t really be a beer expert while living in England but alright

It's beer Jim, but not as we know it.

10 quid dipa cans.

Enough of hazy ipa... Belgium IPA please.. black ipa... please Bring in the good stuff please

Wish they'd stop making IPAs especially with crappy flavourings

I love your reviews, but you're not getting pissed enough about your government restricting your tastes. Just the tip of the iceberg mates. Get annoyed.

Woke environmentalist. Live in London no doubt!

I'm hoping that sense will prevail and these crafty hoppified-murky beverages get reclassified as barley-based fruity cocktails. Their appearance, mouthfeel, hop overkill with that 'merican 'more is better' BS is a glaring deviation from the category 'beer'.